It must be said, we’ve had a pretty unstable campaign. Possibly yet another trophyless season beckons and yet another possible departure of one of our big-name players could also occur.
If reports are to be believed, Bacary Sagna is set to leave Arsenal this summer, with rumours circulating the 30-year-old and Arsene Wenger are sorting out some sort of deal which would see the experienced full-back depart The Emirates.
Of course this all needs to be taken care of before 2014, as PSG, Inter and a few middle-eastern sides seem keen on acquiring the France international.
Arsenal reportedly did make a move to extend Sagna’s contract, but we all know Arsene’s policy for those above 30. Only a one-year extension has been offered to the right-back, which I doubt is likely to be enough to entice Sagna to stay.
If this was to ensue, then we would certainly need to acquire another right-back. Thankfully, Wenger seems to have this covered.
Reports suggest The Gunners are eyeing up Feyenoord’s Daryl Janmaat as a potential replacement.
But will the potential newcomer be a good enough replacement for Sagna, who has been arguably one of the top right-backs in the Premier League since arriving from Auxerre back in 2006?
Sure he’s been poor this season, but two broken legs in quick succession does take a serious toll on fatigue and form.
I haven’t seen much of Janmaat to be honest. So to answer my question, I’d say no. Considering he comes from a league that doesn’t really have very serious competition and the kind of physicality needed to survive in the Premier League. And because of this, I don’t think the Dutchman could replace the Frenchman or even challenge Carl Jenkinson, who has really stepped up to the plate this year.
Instead of looking to replace Sagna completely, I’d suggest maybe signing Janmaat to bolster the squad. Doing so could let us groom him into a player good enough to play in the Premier League with Sagna as a mentor and Jenkinson as his rival for the future.
Sagna is a very good defender and has bags of experience under his belt, which is very much needed. We need a few older players in the squad to guide the youngsters, that’s for sure.
I’m confident Sagna will be back to his best next season, and with Jenkinson slowly proving his worth perhaps the signing of Janmaat could really step up the competition for places which, in our squad, is very low in some areas and has often led to complacency from certain players who know they’d get a good run of games despite being poor in a number of them.
Would Janmaat be a good option for us this summer?
Let us know what you think below
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Sagna has been poor this year which is down to the broken bones as well as being demoralised by the sale of song and vanpersie.If he can regain form between now and the summer id keep him even if he doesnt agree a new contract he doesnt owe us anything.By the time hes ready to leave jenkinson will have the experience to move up and we can promote his understudy from within.Such transfer funds as we have available must be concentrated on the positions we need to strengthen most